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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SirRealist who wrote (17492)	1/29/2002 10:23:14 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Well, I was hoping Nadine would weigh in, but when she didn't, I kept digging. And the answer is . . . . Because it's one of the platforms of the Likud party to keep the settlements and increase them, and to prevent the establishment of a Palestininan state west of the Jordan river. And Ariel Sharon is a member of the Likud party. From the 1999 platform: "The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting." gamla.org.il From the 1996 platform: "Zionism is the liberation movement of the Jewish people, and its fulfilment is at the top of the list of priorities of the Government of Israel. Immigration will be increased, and settlement will be strengthened. The decision to freeze settlements will be rescinded." us-israel.org The Likud party does not want the Palestinians to have its own state west of the Jordan river, which they regard as the natural homeland of the Jews: "The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river." Both the West Bank and Gaza are west of the Jordan river. gamla.org.il So to those of us (like me) who thought that the peace process was intended to give the Palestininans a homeland in the West Bank and Gaza, free from settlements, that is clearly not the case. The status quo is as good as it's going to get for the Palestinians - the Israelis intend to keep settling, and explanding settlements, to places which are important to them for religious reasons, and they have zero intention of having a Palestinian homeland west of the Jordan River. And if the Palestinians, or anyone else in the world, doesn't like it, tough. Now the following statement is based on reading between the lines - the Likud party was opposed to Oslo and Wye River, and wanted to jettison them, but some bright boys (or gals) figured out a way to read the text so that it did not say what it seemed to say, which is the line that Nadine has been giving, but I didn't get it until now. I think the reading they are giving is contrary to the express resolution of the United Nations, which seems to think that it still has unfinished business in the area, in light of the fact that Britain dumped the whole problem in their lap in 1947. Israel has been very bold about rejecting every interpretation of law and fact which is unfavorable to it, and the US has consistently supported Israel even when every other country disagreed with Israel's position. And who is going to attack the US? Hmmmmm. Well, maybe the reason we have been attacked isn't JUST because we're rich and powerful. Maybe the Arabs think they're right and we're wrong. And maybe they have a point, since most of the rest of the world agrees about Israel. Oh, no, of course not. They are just uncivilized yahoos, and we're always right. Ho, hum.